Personal computer (“PC”) characteristics and behavior are typically predicated on the user's presence in the vicinity of the device. For example, error messages and/or interactive questions may be displayed on the display devices coupled to the PC, with the expectation that the user is present to respond. Machines designated as servers, on the other hand, typically operate with no one in attendance. Server messages, for example, may be written to a log file accessible remotely by the server administrator. Servers are often referred to as operating “headless” since they may have no human interface device (“HID device”) such as a mouse, keyboard and/or monitor attached locally.
Recently, the notion of a “digital home” has become more prevalent. At the core, the digital home vision contemplates various devices within a home (e.g., consumer electronic devices, PCs, etc.) interconnected and integrated seamlessly on a network. Within this environment, at least one device (e.g., a PC), may host and manipulate content accessible by other devices on the network. In other words, as currently contemplated, these digital home environments may include PCs that operate as servers, i.e., with the user being mostly absent. FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a digital home environment within which PC 100 may act as a server that interacts with Devices 105, 110, 115, 120 and 125 on a digital home Network 150 without any user interaction. Most PC users, however, will continue to expect their PCs to behave like traditional PCs, both when the PCs are turned on and when they are turned off. Thus, for example, when a user turns off his PC, he expects the machine to power down. If powered down, however, the PC may not process any requests, i.e., it may not act as a server.